


Of Mothers and Misunderstandings

by appleturnoversandstrudel



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst with a Happy Ending, Episode: s02e10 The Cricket Game, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mommy Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-23
Updated: 2017-02-23
Packaged: 2018-09-26 11:49:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9895226
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/appleturnoversandstrudel/pseuds/appleturnoversandstrudel
Summary: What if Emma had turned around after walking out the door? What if she had seen the look on Regina's face and decided to pay her a visit?





	1. At the Diner

**Author's Note:**

> Written during the season 2 hiatus. Unedited since.

"See you later." Henry let his hand slip from Regina's, leaving it hanging by her side. He didn't see her dejected look as he walked out the door, leaving her standing in the middle of the room with her eyes glossed over with tears on the verge of falling.

Emma had been the first one out, but she had decided to wait up for Henry. She hung back by the door, obscured by the frame but able to watch the entire scene unfold. She greeted her son with a tousle of his hair and a "Hey, kid." He smiled at her, happy to see her again.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. She knew the answer, but wanted to hear him say it himself.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Henry said, tugging at Emma's arm to hurry her up.

Emma raised an eyebrow, but didn't press the matter. He could talk later. She wrapped her arm around him and they headed off towards Granny's diner.

The food at Granny's was just as good as Emma had remembered it to be. Of course, it helped that none of it contained chimera, but it had been so long since Emma had eaten one of Granny's cheeseburgers, and it tasted more delicious than ever. She bit into one, grease running down her chin, savoring the juicy burger. After she had sated her hunger with the burgers and indulgently crispy fries, she walked over to Henry. It was time.

"Hey kid, where's your mom? I didn't see her at all after we left for the diner," Emma asked him gently, knowing the answer but waiting for him to tell her. Henry looked at her.

"Um, I didn't invite her to come with us, so I guess she went home." He shrugged, then went back to picking at his half eaten fries. Unsatisfied with this answer, Emma pushed further.

"You didn't invite her? No wonder she isn't here. Kid, she's your mom, how could you not invite her?" Emma asked in shock, and slight disappointment.

"I don't know, I thought you guys wouldn't want her here with everyone after everything she's done. She's the Evil Queen, remember?" Henry looked puzzled, like a deer in headlights. He'd only wanted to do what he thought was best, but as ten year olds were wont to do, he had made the wrong call. Emma sighed, pulling Henry aside.

"Henry, how can you say that? She just saved our lives! I think that deserves a dinner invitation, don't you? Oh, if only I'd known that you didn't invite her, I would have done it myself!"

"Oops. Sorry, Emma." Henry looked down in shame. "I didn't even think about that. I thought you wanted it to be just your family." Emma let out a laugh. Half the town had shown up to Granny's in order to welcome Emma back. If she'd wanted it to be just her family, they would have met up at Mary Margaret's apartment, and only her, Snow, Charming, Henry, and Regina would have been there. Even in a "family only" celebration, Regina would have been invited. This was just ridiculous.

"She might not be my family, but she's yours, Henry! She's taken care of you all these years, and that deserves some appreciation," she reprimanded her son gently.

Henry's head hung even lower. "But I didn't think it would be such a big deal to her. It's not like you guys are her favorite people in the world." He was now desperately grasping for straws, trying to justify his actions.

"Oh, honey, of course it was a big deal to her. Everyone's here except for her, and seeing as she is the reason we're both back and having this little party to celebrate, she would have wanted to be here as well. Did you see the look on her face when you walked out the door and left here there?"

Henry thought back to that moment, then shook his head. "No. I was in a hurry to get here and catch up with you and Grandma. Why, was it bad?"

Emma laughed dryly. "Well, I saw it, and as to was it bad? Let's just say that the look on her face was the 'kicked puppy' look."

"Huh? What does that mean?" Henry looked at her in confusion.

"In one of my foster families when I was a kid, we had a dog. A little golden retriever puppy. It was the cutest thing you've ever seen, all soft fur and wagging tail. We all loved that dog, except for the youngest boy in that family. He would kick it for fun, enjoying the pain he caused that innocent creature. I remember once, he kicked that dog so hard, it flew across the room. It was a wonder it wasn't seriously hurt after that. But the look on that puppy's face, I'll never forget it. There was just so much hurt and sadness in that dog's eyes. If dogs could cry, it would have been sobbing. It broke my heart just looking at it. That look was the same one I saw on your mother's face when you walked out on her and left her all alone in Gold's shop."

Emma paused, letting Henry absorb all of the information she'd just thrown at him. His head drooped down guiltily. He hadn't even considered how much this would hurt his other mother, only caring about what the Charmings would think. Finally, he looked up and spoke.

"Hey, Emma? I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her. I love her. She's my mom too. She did a really great and dangerous thing today, just for me, and I just left her. Do you think you could go check on her? Just to make sure she's okay?" Henry pleaded earnestly with her. She studied him with concern before answering.

"Sure kid. But make sure to stay here at Granny's. I'm sure Mary Margaret- I mean, Snow." She shook her head in frustration, "would want to catch up with you, and I don't want you getting hurt in the streets. Promise?" Emma looked him squarely in the eye, making him see the gravity of the situation.

"Promise. Please make sure my mom's alright, Emma. Today was a really tough day on her. She went through a lot to get you back, and then I made it all worse by not even thanking her. Just go talk to her. I'm sure she'd appreciate it." Henry spoke seriously now. The ramifications of that day's events had finally hit him, and he looked genuinely worried about his mother. She gave him one last long look, before swallowing hard and consenting to his wishes.

"Of course, Henry. I'm worried about her too. Don't worry, I'll make sure she's doing okay." Emma gave him a small smile, but he still appeared unconvinced. He remembered all too well how interactions between the two women had gone in the past. It appeared Emma could read his thoughts because she answered his unspoken question.

"I promise. I know my track record with your mom isn't the best, but I still care about her. I'll go to your house to see how she's doing, and you'll stay here with everyone else. Do we have a deal?"

"Ugh, don't talk about deals! That's Rumpelstiltskin's territory." Henry's face scrunched up in disgust. Emma chuckled, and ruffled his hair.

"Okay kiddo. We got a plan, then?" Henry nodded. "Come here." Emma pulled her son in for a hug, relishing the opportunity after the amount of time she had been deprived of it. After a time, satisfied with the affection exchanged between her son and herself, she pulled her arms away and headed toward the door. She turned back, facing Henry.

"Stay here, don't go anywhere. I'll go visit your mom. I'll take good care of her, I promise." Emma walked out the door of the diner and started walking toward the mayoral mansion. It had become a bit chilly as night fell quickly around her, but Emma was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice. The mess that she and Henry had made of the whole situation weighed on her mind. She only hoped the mayor was okay.


	2. Drinks and Dilemmas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emma goes to confront Regina, who is wallowing in despair.

Regina Mills was most certainly not okay. After Henry left, she could only stand there, as if glued to the floor, watching the door and hoping he would come back for her. Tears welled up in her eyes, brimming until they overflowed, trailing down her face. The salty drops stung as they rolled down her cheeks, but she barely even registered them in the midst of her emotional turmoil.

_Congratulations. You just reunited mother and son. Maybe one day, they'll even invite you to dinner._ Rumpelstiltskin's spiteful words rang out in her head as she sobbed. It had been his parting jab, beating her down in her vulnerability. As time passed, she realized it was less and less likely that Henry would remember that he left her there, and with a weary sigh, she headed home.

The drive back was uneventful, but Regina didn't even notice. She was too wrapped up in her thoughts to see the ever constant houses rushing by her car, the scenery unchanged for almost thirty years, or that she'd almost passed by her own house. It wasn't until she saw her driveway passing her by that she slammed the brakes, causing the tires to squeal as they brought the car to an abrupt stop. Breathing in deeply, she backed slowly into her driveway and walked mechanically up the walk and into her house. By this point, her head was pounding and she could barely stand.

She made her way to her cabinet and pulled out her prize-winning cider and a crystal tumbler. Alcohol wasn't the solution to life's problems, that she knew, but sometimes, it was a nice pause button. Normally, she would have scorned a person doing as she was, calling them weak, or irresponsible, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Everything was swimming around her head, and she needed to escape. She just couldn't handle it right now.

The cloudy, honey colored liquid poured into the tumbler, filling it almost to the brim. She picked it up and took a small sip, savoring its sweet, tart taste. It felt smooth going down her throat, coating it like syrup. Small sips gave way to inelegant gulps as the day's events overcame her. Finally, after her second glass, she felt ready to begin pondering what had happened. She filled a third glass in preparation, then rested her head in her hands.

For starters, her mother had been a hair's breadth away from coming to Storybrooke. _Gulp_. That wretched woman, that monster who had manipulated her since birth and turned her into a carbon copy of herself. That woman, which Regina herself had ordered killed, and that she assumed dead for twenty eight years. Until now. Now, Regina knew the truth; that she was alive and seeking vengeance. The prospect scared the living daylights out of her. Her body shook slightly at the thought. _Gulp, gulp, swallow._ The cider in her glass was half gone.

Then, there was the matter of absorbing all of the fairy dust from the well. That much magic at once was toxic, even to such a powerful sorceress as herself. If she didn't find some way to channel it out of her body soon, she could die. She drained the rest of the glass. The tremors were already setting in, and she felt faintly sick. Maybe that was just the alcohol. Regina chose to ignore this thought and reached for the cider bottle again. Noticing it was just about empty, she sighed and went to her hidden cupboard. She pulled out her scotch, the one she saved for special occasions that was aged 20 years in an oak casket. Having a mental breakdown definitely qualified as a special occasion in her book.

Pouring a measure of it into her tumbler, she sat back down in her seat and hit upon her main problem. So she wasn't invited to dinner with her son and the rest of his family. So her own son, whom she had cared for his entire life, had chosen to ignore her yet again for a woman who had only shown up a year ago. It wasn't the end of the world. She could just have dinner by herself. Looking around her kitchen, she decided she wasn't up to cooking that night. Liquid dinner it was. She swirled the amber liquid in her glass, inhaling the deep scent that wafted up from it slowly. It had been such a long time since she had scotch, her own cider usually sufficing to satisfy her when she was struck by the whim to drink, but tonight called for something stronger. The first sip burned her throat, causing her to cough and sputter, but she soon got used to the smoky liquid.

Just as she had settled into her routine, she heard a knock on her door. She ignored it, hoping the unwanted visitor would take the hint and leave. Whoever it was clearly was either very lacking in tact, or very interested to see her.

"Regina?" She heard someone call out, a voice that could only belong to one person. Putting the pieces together, Regina groaned. Damn. That insufferable woman was the last person she wanted to see tonight. Emma had gotten her happy family back, couldn't she leave her alone to her misery?

No such luck. The knocking became more insistent as Emma pounded on the door. Regina put her head on the table and covered it with her hands, the same pounding echoing around her skull. Why couldn't she have waited till morning?

"Regina? I'm coming in." She heard her door click open and then the doorknob turn. Emma had let herself in. The woman's lack of manners knew no bounds. Regina could hear her approaching the kitchen but couldn't bring herself to care. At the moment, the best she could do was muster up the energy to lift her head off the table and face the blonde, who had now seated herself next to her at the table.

"How can I help you, Miss Swan?" Her tone was pure ice as she greeted the woman, making it abundantly clear that she was not welcome there. Emma gulped. This would clearly be harder than she thought. She looked around the kitchen, taking in the scene. Everything was spotless, gleaming as usual, except for the tumbler of scotch, resting half filled in Regina's hand, and the two bottles of alcohol, one filled with shining amber set before her, and the other placed on the counter behind her. She whistled in surprise.

"Didn't take you for a scotch drinker," Emma started off easy. She didn't want to anger Regina. The other woman glared at her, clearly fuming inside. She set her glass down reluctantly and looked Emma straight in the eye.

"The things you don't know about me could fill many volumes, Miss Swan." Her exasperation at the other woman's intrusion was evident. _Please leave now_ , Regina thought desperately, but the other woman was as obstinate as she was tactless.

"It's just that you've always been partial to your cider. I just assumed that you would drink that instead," Emma tried to clarify. Regina's stare was burning holes into her glass. Things were not going as planned.

"Yes, well as you can see, the cider wasn't cutting it." She gestured to the bottle behind her, a thin coat of pale yellow shimmering at the bottom of the glass bottle. Emma's eyes grew wide in shock as she slowly registering her message.

"Did you drink that entire thing tonight?" She knew just how strong Regina's cider was. It had put her in jail the night she arrived, although the wolf she had seen was totally real.

Regina shrugged noncommittally. "It wasn't that strong. I needed something with a kick. Hence, the scotch. I would offer you some, but I'm assuming you'll be heading back to my son soon, and he doesn't need to pick up any more bad habits from you." _Always a dig,_ thought Emma. She couldn't ever just be a normal human being and leave her few kind acts untainted by animosity. Deciding against spouting off her brilliant retort, Emma took a deep breath and moved the bottle of scotch away from Regina, waiting for her reaction and gauging it carefully. No reaction. Well, in this case, that was a good sign.

"I think you've had enough to drink for tonight." Regina shrugged, grabbing her glass possessively, lest Emma should decide that would be next to go.

"I think that my drinking habits are none of your concern, Miss Swan." Her tone was low, warning Emma of danger if she continued. "I've had enough taken from me today; at least let me enjoy the one thing I have left, my drink." She lifted the tumbler to her mouth and took a careful sip, daring her to keep going. An awkward silence arose between the two women as Regina kept drinking and Emma observed her.

"How are you Regina?" Emma finally got out desperately. There was a wall of ice standing strong between the two women, and maybe if she tried being nice, Emma thought, she could break it.

Regina gave a hollow laugh. "Oh, I'm doing just splendid. I risked my life in order to save two women I can barely tolerate for my ungrateful son, who then goes on to have dinner with them and their family without even so much as a thought to inviting me. On top of all that, my mother almost came to Storybrooke, which would have resulted in death for everyone." She took a deep breath, having managed all that in one go. "It's really been a banner day. Is that what you wanted to hear? Or were you just making small talk? Because I must say dear, it's really not your strong suit." Regina was back on the offensive, hackles raised and taking no prisoners.

This was a lot of information for Emma to take in. Sure, Henry had told her she'd risked a lot to save them, but her life? That was more than she thought possible. And then there was the matter of Cora. Emma had met the thoroughly wicked woman during her travels in the Enchanted Forest, and she knew just how close she was to coming to Storybrooke instead of Emma and Snow. If they weren't able to fight her off…well, that would have been truly frightening. Emma suddenly had the urge to ask Regina to share the scotch left in her glass, but resisted. She was here to help her, not aggravate her, despite having only accomplished the latter so far.

"It's not small talk, Regina. I really do want to know how you are. Henry's worried about you. I'm worried about you." Emma reached out for her hand, which Regina swiftly pulled back toward her lap.

"Well dear, I've just told you how I am, so you can go now. And if Henry were so worried, he would have cared enough to invite me to dinner. " Her icy exterior was back up, the moment of vulnerability she had allowed herself over. The words sounded harsh even to her own ears, but Emma needed to learn to mind her own business for once in her life. Emma sighed.

"You can let yourself out the same way you came in. How did you get in here, anyway?" Regina was genuinely curious. "I keep my door locked at all times and only Henry and I have the key."

Emma rummages around her pocket, then held up a shiny brass key. "Henry gave it to me in case of emergencies. I figured this would qualify." Regina rolled her eyes.

"Of course he did. Well, you can just use it now to lock the door on your way out. Good night, Miss Swan. Have a nice dinner with your…family." That last word stuck in Regina's throat. Bitterness laced through her words, bitterness she didn't even make the slightest effort to hide. Undeterred, Emma pressed on.

"Look, no matter what you say, no matter how many times you insult me, Regina, I'm not leaving you alone. At the rate you're going, you'll drink Maine dry, and it won't make you feel any better about this whole thing."

Regina laughed again, a biting bark. "Don't be so sure dear. I was doing fine before you so rudely interrupted my quiet evening." She went to take another sip of her scotch but discovered her glass was empty. Sighing, she started to grab for the bottle, but Emma caught her hand mid-grasp. Not letting go, she looked Regina in the eye and started speaking, the words coming from her heart.

"Sure you were, Regina. That really squares up with what you just told me and the miserable woman I walked in on a little while ago." Regina opened her mouth to protest, but Emma stopped her. "Don't even try to deny it. This whole thing is killing you inside, and you have every right to be upset."

"Thank you for letting me be upset, that's very gracious of you." Acid seeped through her words as she tried yet again to get that incorrigible woman to leave her house, failing just as miserably as before. Why wouldn't she leave?

"Sarcasm isn't going to help anybody here. Henry should have invited you to dinner. I get it. But it was all a misunderstanding. I'm sorry. If I'd known he didn't invite you I would have done it myself." Emma spoke with a frantic urgency, trying desperately to convince Regina. "Really. I saw the look you had on your face when Henry walked out."

Regina raised an eyebrow. "Oh really, Miss Swan? And what kind of look was that?" She was baiting her, testing her to see just how far her concern would go.

"That was the 'kicked puppy' look." At the confused expression that resulted, Emma clarified. "You know, like a puppy that was kicked? When I was a kid, we had this puppy in one of my foster homes, and-" Regina cut her off here with a wave of her hand.

"As charming as your childhood stories may be, Miss Swan," she grimaced at the unintentional pun, "I have no interest in hearing them. While I'm pleased you saw the error of your ways, I don't need you to babysit me, or whatever your intention was in coming here. Please feel free to return to your loving family. I'm sure they all miss you very much. No need to listen to little old me."

"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not leaving until we get this straightened out. I already apologized for dinner. Don't bite my head off over it. It was a misunderstanding, not some plot to take Henry away from you. He's still your son too, and he loves you. He actually asked me to come here and check up on you. Not that I wouldn't have done it anyways after I noticed you weren't there, but still." Emma faltered after seeing the hurt look on Regina's face. Damn her kicked puppy look.

"And just how long did it take you to notice I was missing? Five minutes? Ten? Half an hour? Oh that's right. Almost two hours. Don't think you have me fooled, Miss Swan. I know you're only here to assuage your guilty conscience. Well congratulations. You won. Henry's on your side and he has completely abandoned me. Apparently ten years of constant care pale in comparison to the woman who decided to waltz in a year ago and has done nothing but damage that poor boy." She looked ready to burst into tears, but kept on spewing venom at Emma. Offense was the best defense; that had always been her philosophy.

"This isn't about sides, Regina. Henry is our son. That means yours and mine." Emma saw through to the pain underscoring the vitriol, and tried to soothe it.

"Thank you, Miss Swan, for that vocabulary lesson, I wasn't sure what 'ours' had meant. Now please, for once in your life, listen to what someone has told you and leave me be. Let me deal with my own problems, alone." The dismissal was obvious as Regina turned away and finally took the bottle of scotch from where Emma had placed it. Triumph gleaming in her eyes, she poured herself another tall glass, bringing it to her lips in victory.

Emma was slowly growing more and more frustrated. Why was Regina so unwilling to see that Emma wanted to help her? Moving the bottle to the other side of the table, she looked at Regina and spoke quietly.

"If you keep dealing with your problems like this, you'll die of cirrhosis, or worse. Just let me help you. It won't kill you, you know." The joke was lame, but Regina cracked a small smile. Emma wanted to help, and wouldn't leave her alone until she'd done so? Fine. Two could play at that game.

"Okay then. First off, I absorbed enough magic to power the entire Enchanted Forest for a whole year in the span of a few seconds. That'll kill me far faster than the scotch, I can assure you." Emma gaped in shock, not knowing this development.

"Then there's the small matter of my mother almost ruining everything . You remember, the lovely woman who tried to murder you and your mother just a few hours ago. Well, that is the least she would do. You think I'm bad, Miss Swan." Emma started to protest, but Regina cut her off. "Don't even deny it. It's true. But, my mother is infinitely worse. You have no idea what she's capable of. She would pull out people's hearts for the fun of it. At least when I did it, I had a reason. Her reason was a person being within arm's length of her." Satisfied at the look of horror this had provoked, Regina continued. "Not even her family was spared. I remember when I was little, she would" She clasped her hand over her mouth, horrified at what she had almost revealed.

"I'm sorry, Miss Swan. I can't do this. This conversation is not appropriate for such a setting. Maybe some other time." Emma shook her head no. She had gotten so far, fought so hard. There was no way she would give up now.

"What kind of a setting is it appropriate for? Because I want to hear it Regina. It's clearly bothering the hell out of you, and you need to get it out. So what'll it take?" Emma stared her down.

"Excuse me?" Regina asked incredulously. This wasn't what was supposed to result. After hearing her story, Emma should have realized that she was in over her head and left. Emma had already gotten more than enough out of her. She wanted more?

"You heard me. What'll it take for you to tell me?" She wasn't backing down.

"Fine." Regina sighed. This was not helping her headache one bit. The time for games was over. The sooner she got it over with, the sooner she could get Emma to leave.

"My mother is a very cruel woman. She killed people for sport, and abused her power just to prove that she could. You can see why it would be disastrous if she had gotten through that portal." She smirked sardonically. "When I was little, she would tie me up with whatever was around using magic until I promised to be good. Well, I was never good enough, so I'd stay up there for hours, hoping, praying she'd let me go. It just kept on getting worse and worse throughout the years until I started practicing magic. That appeased her, but it made me become just like her. I never wanted Henry to suffer like I did, so I stopped using magic, for him. But now, it seems that wasn't enough for him. He didn't even care enough to invite me to dinner." Tears started to flow unashamedly down her face. She didn't make the slightest effort to wipe them off.

Emma got up out of her seat and went over to Regina, resting one hand on her shoulder. She had no idea how awful things were for the now sobbing woman. "Henry does love you. He just got mixed up in the commotion earlier and forgot to invite you." At these words, Regina looked up hopefully. Emma went on. "It can't be easy dealing with that by yourself, or on an empty stomach." Regina's stomach growled its assent. She had gotten so caught up in the day's events that she'd forgotten she hadn't eaten since that morning. "See, your stomach agrees with me." Emma joked, earning a smile and a reluctant chuckle from Regina.

"Come on." She grabbed Regina's arm, urging her up. "Let's go talk about this somewhere else."

"Where are you taking me?" Regina asked, scared.

Emma peered at the clock. "Well, it's only eleven. Granny's should still be open."

As Regina caught on to what Emma was saying, she gasped. "But people might still be there."

"I know. They can thank you too," Emma replied simply. "But I owe you, for today." Regina couldn't deny that. "Come on. Let's get you some dinner."


End file.
